Saturday 14 November 2009 saw
another Open Mic Night taking place in the Avebury Social
Centre. Andree and Lawrie were the only two people
present when I arrived. It was expected to be a quiet
night because of the weather, concurrent events and the
fact the previous Open Mic had only been two weeks
previously. But attendance was fine and it turned out to
be a great night. A bit later Cathy played piano as
people continued to arrive. The event got underway just
before 20:00 and I was first up. I started with a late
performance of my 48-line Samhain poem, sounding a small
Tibetan bowl every four lines. I followed with a second
reading of my 80-line Misnomers 2 poem, continually
rubbing a larger Tibetan bowl as I progressed. Lawrie was
up next with three songs on guitar, including one of his
own about the darker days. Tim, former landlord of the
Red Lion, made his Open Mic debut on this night and
performed covers of REM’s "Losing My Religion"
and Weezer’s "Island In The Sun". He was
followed by Anouk, who started with a cover of "Cold
Day In July" by the Dixie Chicks and then moved into
a cover of "The Lucky One" by Alison Krauss.
Cathy came back to the piano to perform Joni
Mitchell’s Blue. She then moved to vocals-only with
Steve on piano to perform one of my favourite songs -
Yazoo’s "Only You". Steve then moved to
guitar for another performance with Cathy, before
performing on his own with guitar, starting with The
Stone Roses’ "Ten Storey Love Song". And
continuing with" Long Black Veil" by the Dave
Matthews Band. Neil made a brief appearance to read three
poems. The first was about observations on a group of
dogs, the next was called "A Postcard To My
Forebears" and the final one was called "The
Far Distance" - about what happens to Swindon toxic
waste! Paul followed with a collection of songs, starting
with one of his own called "Moon Flower Girl".
He followed with another song and then a third work - a
music-only piece that had been written following his move
to Devon.The break saw some lovely cake being brought around. I took the chance to catch up with a few people as well as to answer some questions about my bowls and memory technique. With things underway again I started the second half with a performance of my 80-line Puns 1 poem, sounding a small Japanese bowl after each pair of lines. I was very pleased with the reaction to this. Terry came on next, starting with a cover of the Bob Dylan song "Knocking on Heaven’s Door". He followed with a cover of B.B. King’s "Stormy Monday", which gave him a chance to try out his new mouth organ gadget. He finished with another cover. Gordon came on next with "It’s A Mean Old Scene", followed by a cover of Dolly Parton’s "The Last Thing On My Mind" and then a cover of Bob Dylan’s "Blowin' In The Wind" (with requested audience participation). Lawrie came back to perform a Buddy Holly medley, with Steve on piano. Terry, Paul and Gordon also accompanied in the background. Tim returned to perform a song he had written many years previously called "Perfect World". Steve came back to perform a couple of his own songs. Paul also took up a second slot, his performance including a song with an African influence. The evening concluded with a variety of jamming sessions. Terry led one based around U2’s "I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For". Gordon led the next one, centred on Van Morrison’s "It Takes a Worried Man". Terry led the next session and Lawrie followed with "Hotel California". Then Steve led another session on guitar. Overall this was another brilliant night of entertainment. As always thanks must go to Andree and Lawrie for all their hard work and enthusiasm in making these nights happen.
